Railway track switch lubricating or de-icing apparatus



July 26, 1966 J. A. HILL 3,253,075

RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH LUBRICATING 0R DE-ICING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGI July 26, 1966 J. A. HILL 3,263,075

RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH LUBRIUATING OR DE-ICING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2

J. A. HILL July 26, 1966 RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH LUBRIUATING OR DE-ICING APPARATUS Filed May 27- 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet I5 July 26, 1966 J. A. HILL 3,

RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH LUBRICATING 0R DE-ICING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.4

J. A. HILL.

July 26, 1966 RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH LUBRIGATING 0R DE-ICING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG.7

FIGS

709 FIGIO w w w O O O July 26, 1966 J. A. HILL 3,263,075

RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH LUBHIGATING OR DE-ICING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent 3,263,075 RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH LUBRICATING UR DE-ICING APPARATUS John Alexander Hill, Wellington, Surrey, England, assignor to The P. 8: M. Co. (England) Limited, London, England, a British company Filed May 27, 1963, Ser. No. 283,478 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 1, 1962, 21,334/ 62 15 Claims. (Cl. 246428) This invention relates to railway track switch lubricating or de-icing apparatus.

In accordance with the invention there is provided railway track switch lubricating or de-icing apparatus, comprising a reservoir for lubricant, or de-icing fluid, a pump for ejecting lubricant or fluid from the reservoir, and mechanism for actuating the pump and operable in accordance with displacement of the track switch.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how it may be carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a railway track switch in accordance with an embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side view of apparatus included in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view corresponding to FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line IVIV of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 5 is a detail taken in section along the line V-V of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is a detail taken in section along the line VI-VI of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged detail taken in section along the line VII-VII of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged detail of FIGURE 7,

FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a modification of the apparatus, and

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating a further modification.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 8 of the drawings, comprises apparatus for lubricating a railway track switch, the track indicated generally at 1 in FIG- URE 1, having switch rails or blades 2, 3 and spaced apart timbers or sleepers 4. The apparatus includes a reservoir 5 adapted to be charged with lubricant, such as oil, and provided with angle brackets 6 at opposite ends of the reservoir which enable the latter to be fitted between the timbers 4 at a suitable position between the toe and heel of the switch rails 2, 3. The reservoir 5 which, in the present embodiment, is substantially rectangular in plan, is provided in the lower part thereof with a lubricant pump 7 having a horizontally disposed cylinder 8 located within, and formed as an integral part of, the reservoir casing. The pump cylinder has at its outer end, a plug 9 providing communication between the interior of the cylinder 8 and a lateral passage 10 which communicates through a non-return ball valve 11 with a chamber of a check valve body 12 having a pair of outlet ports 13, 14 for the discharge of lubricant under pressure from the reservoir. Within the pump cylinder 8 there is disposed a helical return spring 15 for a plunger 16 of the pump. The cylinder 8 is formed with an inlet slot 17 through which lubricating oil can be drawn from the reservoir into the pump cylinder 8, the slot 17 being open when the plunger 16 is in its fully retracted position.

The plunger 16 has an axial prolongation 18 engageable with a rotary cam 19 having a cam rise or projection 20 and mounted for angular stepwise movement by an upright shaft 21 through the intermediary of motion transmission means indicated generally at 22. The shaft 3,263,075 Patented July 26, 1966 21 is mounted in a bearing housing 23 depending from the top 24 of the reservoir. The shaft 21 has an upper portion 25 to which there is keyed a boss of a horizontally disposed lever arm 26 located above the reservoir. The lever arm 26 carries an actuating lever 27 which, in the normal position of the apparatus between the rails of the track 1, extends generally horizontally and in the direction of the length of the track. The actuating lever 27 is formed with a longitudinal slot 28 engaged by a pin 29 projecting from a horizontal beam 30 mounted for axial sliding movement transversely of the track. The beam 30 comprises a central shaft part 31 mounted for axial sliding movement in aligned bearings 32, 33 disposed in spaced apart lugs 34, 35 of a bearing block 36. The bearing block is mounted on spaced apart support pads 37, 38 for adjustment of the block in a direction longitudinally of the track, the bearing block being formed at opposite ends with parallel slots 39, 40 in which engage upstanding clamping bolts 41 which are threaded into the adjacent support pad 37, 38, and enable the bearing block to be secured firmly in adjusted position. To facilitate adjustment of the bearing block, the latter has on the underside thereof, a guide strip 42 which engages in a corresponding slideway 43 formed in the support pad 38.

The central shaft part 31 of the beam has screwthreaded end portions 44 onto which are screwed end sections 45 of electrical insulating material, each end section having an internally screw-threaded bore 46 which enables the end section to be adjusted on the central shaft part 31 according to the transverse spacing of the switch rails 2, 3. A lock nut 47 is provided at the inner end of each end section 45, so that the latter may be locked in an adjusted position in which the free extremities of the end sections abut the inner faces of the webs of the switch rails. If desired, the end sections 45 may be formed at the outer extremities thereof, to receive bearing members (not shown) for engagement with the webs of the switch rails. The arrangement is such that upon movement of the switch rails from one position to another, the beam 30 will be displaced transversely of the track to produce a corresponding to-and-fro angular movement of the actuating lever 27 and the associated shaft 21 thereby to effect, through the clutch means 22, a certain angular movement of the cam 19 and, depending upon the form of the cam, a corresponding axial movement of the pump plunger 16.

The transmission means 22 comprises a first one-Way clutch 47 and a second one-way clutch 48, the clutch 48 including an inner disc 49 formed with peripheral cut-outs 50 which are substantially triangular in cross-section and in which there are located steel rollers 51 en'gageable by associated springs 52. The disc 49 is rotatable within a circumferential flange of housing 23 and has a central clearance hole for the lower end portion of shaft 21. The disc 49 is secured by a circular series of axial bolts 53 to the cam 19, these bolts extending also through a spacing ring which extends around and is fast with an outer driven member 116 of the first one-way clutch 47. The latter has an inner driving member 117 which is keyed to the end of shaft 21 and which is provided with rollers similar to those of the clutch 48 but operable in the opposite sense so that, during rotation of shaft 21 in one direction, the rollers of the first clutch 47 will wedge to provide a driving connection between the driving and driven members 117 and 116 thereof. At the same time, a corresponding angular movement will be imparted to the inner disc 49 of the second clutch 48, which is in the released condition, and imparted also to the cam 19. When the switch rails are operated to rotate shaft 21 in the opposite direction, the rollers of the first clutch 47 will be disengaged to interrupt the drive to the cam, and the rollers 51 of the second clutch 48 will be wedged against the surrounding flange of the stationary housing 23 thereby to prevent any tendency for the cam to return during the reverse movement of the shaft 21. It will be understood that the clutch rollers may be replaced by balls or the like elements.

The form of cam 19 is such that during part of each complete revolution of the cam 19, the cam projection 20 will be effective to operate the pump plunger 16 for the extrusion of lubricant. Thus, after a predetermined number of transverse movements of the switch rails the cam projection will be moved to effect a complete stroke of the pump plunger, and continued stepwise rotation of the cam will free the cam projection from the plunger so that the latter will be returned to its initial position by the spring 15 and a fresh charge of lubricant will be drawn into the pump cylinder for the next operation of the pump plunger.

The adjustability of the bearing block 36 enables the distance between the pin 29 and the shaft 21 to be varied, thereby to adjust the angular displacement of the cam relatively to the throw of the switch rails from one position to the opposite position. Thus, the number of times the switch rails have to be moved to effect one complete stroke of the pump plunger, can be varied as required. Conveniently, the mechanism may be such that between six and twelve operations of the switch will be required, IfOI' example, to produce a single revolution of the drive shaft and cam, and one complete extrusion stroke of the pump plunger will be produced by the cam projection during approximately one angular stepwise movement of the cam.

The connection between the slotted lever 27 and the associated lever arm 26, incorporates overload release means indicated generally at to permit the switch rails to be moved even though faults or jamming may occur in the internal mechanism of the lubricating apparatus. The overload release means 55 comprises a tubular column 56 provided internally with a spring urged ball or detent 57 adjustable by screw means 58. The ball 57 is engageable, during normal operation, in a depression 59 formed in the lever arm 27. The arrangement is such that should there be any jamming of, for example, the plunger operating mechanism, the ball 57 will be disengaged to permit lever 27 to rock relatively to the associated lever arm 26 and its shaft 21.

The outlet ports 13, 14 of the pump, are connected by conduits 60, 61, to delivery pipes 62, 63 (FIGURE I) mounted on supports 64. Each pipe 62, 63 is composed of pipe unions 120 interconnected by flexible hose sections 121, each union 120 being fitted with a lateral branch pipe 65 having a nozzle 66 for directing oil onto the surfaces of the slide chairs or base plates 67 of the switch rails. Each nozzle comprises a nozzle tube 68 (FIGURE 8) having an internal valve seating 69 against which a ball 70 is pressed by a spring 71 confined between the ball and an end cap 72. The tube 68 is formed adjacent the cap 72 with an inclined oil outlet 73. It will be understood that the form and disposition of the delivery pipes nozzles may be varied as desired according to the flow of oil required to the switch slide chairs or base plates.

In operation, displacement of the beam 30 transversely of the track in one direction, as a result of a normal operation of the switch rails, will impart through the lever mechanism and the one-way clutches, an angular stepwise movement of the cam and, when the cam projection is operatively engaged with the pump plunger 16, a corresponding axial movement will be imparted to the plunger to force oil through the delivery pipes and out of the nozzles. Upon operation of the switch blades in the opposite direction, a return movement of the beam and lever mechanism will be permitted by the one-way clutches without displacement of the operating cam 19. If desired, the one-way clutches may be replaced by equivalent drive means, such as a pair of free-wheel ratchet devices arranged for operation in counter directions.

In the present embodiment, the beam 30 is arranged at its ends merely to engage or to abut the opposite switch rails so that the fitting of the apparatus will not require drilling of the rail webs.

During cold winter periods, a de-icing fluid or de-icing oil may be employed in the reservoir instead of ordinary oil, to prevent freezing of the switch rails.

The modification of FIGURE 9 comprises a lubricant pump having a plunger indicated generally at 75 fitted with valve means 76 for controlling the passage of lu bricant from the reservoir into the pump cylinder. The plunger 75 engages at its free end a rotary cam 19a which is rotatable about an axis offset from the pump axis and which has a projection 96 for operating the pump plunger. The plunger has a transverse inlet 77 communicating with an axial bore 78. The inner end of the plunger rod is counter bored to receive a cylindrical valve body 79 formed along its peripheral surface with axial grooves 80 adapted, when the valve body is in a released position, as shown in FIGURE 9, to provide communication between the bore 78 and the pump chamber 85. The plunger tube 75 has, at its inner end, a disc 82 formed with a central aperture 83 and having a circular flange 84 engageable with the valve body 79. The plunger tube 75 is operated against the action of a spring 86 which extends within chamber 85 and is confined between the disc 82 and an abutment shoulder formed within a collar 86a fitted onto the outer end of the pump cylinder, and an outlet head 87 is fixed to the collar by screws 88. The head 87 has a bore in alignment with the valve plunger and accommodating an axially displaceable valve piston 89 normally urged by a spring 91 into sealing engagement with a valve seating 90, the spring being confined between the head of the valve piston and a closure plate 92 screwed to the nozzle head. The arrangment is such that when the lubricant displaces the piston 89 from its seating 90, the lubricant will pass laterally outwardly through mutually inclined outlet ports 93, 94. The piston is formed around its wall, adjacent the head, with annular series of apertures 95 to prevent a build-up in the pressure of lubricant between the cylinder head and the end plate 92.

Rotation of the cam 19a may be effected by lever means as in the embodiment of FIGURES l to 8. Thus, during operation of the mechanism by the switch rails, the cam 19a will be rotated in direction indicated by arrow X, to move the plunger to the left as viewed in FIGURE 9, the seating 81 thereby being brought into sealing engagement with the valve piston 79. Then, as the plunger is moved toward the nozzle head, lubricant between the valve piston 79 and the valve piston 89 in the nozzle head will move the piston 89 from its seating 90 for discharge of the lubricant through the outlet ports 93, 94. As the projection 96 of the cam moves away from the end of the plunger 75, the latter will be returned to the right under the action of spring 86, to produce a suction effect in the pump which draws lubricant from the reservoir through the inlet 77 and bore 78 of the plunger tube, thence along the axial grooves 80 in the valve piston and into the valve chamber 85, for the next operation of the pump.

In the further modified embodiment illustrated in FIG- URE 10, the pump operating mechanism comprises a lever arm 26a which carries an associated operating lever 27a. The latter is formed with a series of spaced holes 100 located at different radial distances from the axis of the operating shaft to be rocked by the lever 27a. The top of the reservoir has, at one side thereof, a guide plate formed with a similar series of holes 101 which latter are internally screw-threaded for the reception of screws 102 to fix a bearing block 103 in adjusted position. The hearing block 103 has an aperture slidingly engaged by a beam 104 which has at its end remote from the bearing block 103, a clevis 105 adapted to be secured as by a removable pin 106 into a selected one of the holes 100.

Spring means 107 is provided to urge the free outer end of the operating beam 104, into contact with the web of an associated switch rail. The spring means comprises a tension spring 108 fixed at one end 109 to the lever 27:: and secured at the other end to an anchorage 110 fixed to the lid of the lubricant reservoir. Thus, during operation, only one of the switch blades is utilised to operate the lubricant pump, the beam 104 being held in engagement with the blade by the spring 108. The throw of lever 27a and thus the angular displacement of the pump cam, can readily be varied by modifying the position of the beam 104 as determined by the selected holes 100, 101.

If desired, two pumps may be provided in the lubricant reservoir, these being arranged in diametrically opposed relationship, so that the axes of the pump plungers are disposed at opposite sides of the axis of the cam. Thus, during each single revolution of the cam, the cam projection thereof will first displace one of the plungers through a complete operating stroke and then, during the next halfrevolution of the cam, displace the second pump plunger for an operating stroke. This arrangement facilities the supply of lubricant under pressure to a number of discharge locations.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for applying lubricant and other treatment fluid to a railway track switch, said apparatus comprising a reservoir for the treatment fluid, a pump disposed within said reservoir for ejecting treatment fluid from the reservoir, and actuating mechanism for actuating said pump in accordance with displacement of the track switch, said actuating mechanism comprising an operating member displaceable by the track switch, a drive shaft mounted for angular to-and-fro movement in said reservoir, lever means for operatively connecting said operating member to said drive shaft, and a cam keyed to said drive shaft for operating said pump.

2. Apparatus for applying lubricating and other treat ment fluid to a railway track switch, said apparatus comprising a casing including a reservoir for the treatment fluid, a pump for ejecting fluid from said reservoir, and mechanism for actuating said pump in accordance with the displacement of the track switch, said actuating mechanism comprising a drive shaft mounted in said casing, lever means for imparting angular to-and-fro movement to said shaft, an operative connection between said lever means and said track switch, a cam keyed to said shaft for operating said pump, and transmission means between said shaft and said cam, said transmission means transmitting an angular driving movement of said shaft to move the cam for operation of said pump and during each angular return movement of said shaft, said transmission means disconnecting the drive from said cam.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said transmission means includes a device for positively holding said cam stationary during each angular return movement of said shaft.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said transmission means comprises a first one-way clutch, a second one-way clutch operable in a reverse sense with respect to said first one-way clutch, said first clutch having an inner driving member keyed to said shaft, an outer driven member and elements for drivingly connecting said driving member to said driven member during each driving movement of said shaft, said second clutch having a driving member, means connecting said latter driving member to said cam and to said driven member of said first clutch, said second clutch having also elements operable, during each idle return movement of said shaft, to engage a relatively fixed part of said casing to restrain displacement of said cam.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said transmission means includes first and second free-wheel ratchet devices operable in the opposite sense, one of said ratchet devices being connected, during each driving angular stepwise movement of said shaft, to transmit a corresponding angular movement of said cam for operating the pump, and said second ratchet device being connected, during each idle reverse stroke of said shaft, to restrain undesired displacement of said cam.

6. Apparatus for applying lubricating and other treatment fluid to a railway track switch, said apparatus comprising a reservoir for said fluid, a pump for ejecting fluid from said reservoir and actuating mechanism for actuating said pump in accordance with displacement of said track switch, said actuating mechanism including a drive shaft mounted for angular to-and-fro movement in said reservoir, a cam on said shaft for operating said pump, lever means providing an operative connection between said shaft and said track switch, said lever means including a lever arm keyed to said shaft, a second lever carried by said lever arm, and an operating beam operatively connected to said second lever, said operating beam being engageable with a blade of said switch to impart angular movement to said shaft upon displacement of said switch blade.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, including means for adjusting said beam along said lever to vary the distance between said shaft and the point of connection of said beam to said lever.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said reservoir comprises a casing, a guide block on said casing, mounting means in said guide block for the operating beam, and means adjustably securing said guide block to said casing, said operating beam comprising a central part mounted for axial sliding movement in said guide block, and sections at opposite ends of said central part for engagement with two opposed switch blades of the track.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said lever means includes overload release means between said lever and said lever arm, said overload release means including an element operable normally to provide a driving connection between said lever and said lever arm, and releasably at a predetermined load to disconnect said driving connection.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said operating beam comprises a rod element, a connector at one end of said rod element for connecting said rod element to a selected hole of a series of holes formed along said lever, .a guide block for said rod element, means adjustably securing said guide block to said reservoir, and spring means for urging said beam axially for engagement of its end remote from said connector, with the switch blade.

11. Apparatus for applying lubricating and other treatment fluid to a railway track switch, said apparatus comprising a casing including a reservoir for the treatment fluid, a pump for ejecting fluid from said reservoir, said pump comprising a cylinder formed as an integral part of said casing, an outlet head at the outer end of said cylinder for connection of an outlet conduit, a plunger mounted for axial movement in said cylinder, and mechanism for operating said pump plunger in accordance with displacement of the track switch, said mechanism including cam means for imparting a driving stroke to said pump plunger for the ejection of fluid.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein an inlet aperture is formed in said .pump cylinder along the length thereof, so that said inlet aperture is opened upon movement of the pump plunger to a retracted position, for the passage of treatment fluid from the reservoir into the pump cylinder.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein said vpump plunger is formed with an axial bore, an inlet adjacent one end of said plunger for the passage of treatment fluid from said reservoir to said bore, valve means at the end of said bore remote from said inlet, for controlling the passage of treatment fluid from said bore into said pump cylinder, said valve means including a valve seating and a relatively displaceable valve piston normally forming a seal between said inlet and the interior of said pump cylinder during a driving stroke of said pump plunger, and means permitting said valve piston upon retraction of said pump plunger at the end of a driving stroke, to move from its seating to permit fluid to be drawn from the reservoir through said axial bore into said pump cylinder.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein said pump has an outlet connected to a delivery pipe, said delivery pipe having tubular outlet spaced apart therealong for directing treatment fluid onto a slide chair of a switch rail.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein each tubular outlet comprises a delivery nozzle, a spring-loaded check valve within said delivery nozzle, and an outlet n G orifice through which fluid can be discharged onto said slide chair.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 849,966 4/1907 Blank 184-3 1,080,363 12/1913 Miller 246415 1,778,637 10/1930 Hollinger 246-428 2,704,517 3/1955 Gracia 104 279 10 2,898,062 8/1959 Magnus 104-279X ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

S. B. GREEN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR APPLYING LUBRICANT AND OTHER TREATMENT FLUID TO A RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A RESERVOIR FOR THE TREATMENT FLUID, A PUMP DISPOSED WITHIN SAID RESERVOIR FOR EJECTING TREATMENT FLUID FROM THE RESERVOIR, AND ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR ACTUATING SAID PUMP IN ACCORDANCE WITH DISPLACEMENT OF THE TRACK SWITCH, SAID ACTUATING MECHANSIM COMPRISING AN OPERATING MEMBER DISPLACEABLE BY THE TRACK SWITCH, A DRIVE SHAFT MOUNTED FOR ANGULAR TO-AND-FRO MOVEMENT IN 